The exhibition "Down the Streets 4" opens at 5 p.m. on November 1 at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, marking 25 years since artist Pham Binh Chuong embarked on his path in realistic art and 20 years since he began exhibiting his "Down the Streets" series dedicated solely to Hanoi.

For Pham Binh Chuong, Hanoi seems to offer everything an artist needs: an intriguing mix of ancient and modern, tranquil and lively, and the distinctiveness of its four seasons.

Despite changes over the years, the most fascinating discovery for Pham Binh Chuong has been that nothing in Hanoi ever truly disappears; instead, it coexists in layers. This timeless allure captivates the artist, who portrays Hanoi’s enduring memories through neoclassical art.

According to the artist, life in Hanoi is full of soft, harmonious conflicts. This theme is powerfully explored in "Down the Streets 4," where Pham Binh Chuong presents layers of scenes and details. Beyond familiar sights, his work reveals the rich, overlapping textures of Hanoi.

French-era cement signs coexist beside modern ones. Wooden folding doors sit next to sliding metal gates in some homes. These “street façades” clash and evolve subtly over time, often without people realizing that certain once-familiar elements - like old gas pumps, tangled telephone poles, or wooden cigarette boxes - have quietly vanished.

In this latest collection, Pham Binh Chuong explores inscriptions left behind by generations as part of the city’s living history. A seemingly ordinary old wall, upon closer inspection, reveals fierce cultural competition and survival. Overlapping graffiti, hastily glued flyers, and Western-style tags crowd the worn stucco.

“I try to depict every detail as accurately as possible to honor those who left their marks," the artist shared. "Sometimes, I even imagine myself as the one spray-painting or stamping the wall with ‘concrete cutting.’ Once you pay attention, you see how complex it all is, because life is about competition, convenience, and obsolescence."

Alongside these evolving walls, however, are constants - like a tea shop with familiar customers gathering daily for endless conversations. The shop owner adds to the scene with a shirt hung on the wall. Someday, this wall might be repainted by a group of student volunteers, ushering in a new phase of life.

Through this collection, Pham Binh Chuong distills the "soul of the city" with simplicity and depth. Large-scale paintings especially convey the essence of Hanoi’s evolving cityscape, both in broad strokes and symbolic details that reflect societal change in the capital. Expanding further, scenes of French colonial-style architecture are displayed alongside newer urban landscapes.